SEAL BEACH : Ballot Argument Amendment Sought

City Clerk Joanne M. Yeo filed a petition Thursday seeking a Superior Court order to amend a ballot argument against Measure B-91, an advisory measure that would list specific recommendations on development of the Hellman Ranch property.

Yeo filed the petition in response to complaints from residents that several statements in the ballot arguments opposing the measure are false.

The arguments, signed by Mayor Edna Wilson and Councilman Joe Hunt, say in part that the measure “puts the city of Seal Beach in the commercial land development business” and “advises the Seal Beach City Council to purchase the Hellman Ranch land with your tax dollars.”

Measure B-91, which if approved in the June 4 election would not be binding on the council, asks residents if they would favor several projects--including a golf course, parkland, country club, restaurants, shops or a small-scale hotel--in areas of the Hellman Ranch property deemed seismically safe. The council majority favors development only on a narrow bluff area of the Hellman Ranch site.

Measure B-91 would be applicable only if voters fail to pass Measure A-91, which would clear the way for Mola Development Corp. to proceed with its controversial $200-million plan to build 329 homes on the Hellman Ranch property.

Supporters of Measure A-91 say it would bring a financial windfall to the city, along with valuable parks and wetlands. But opponents--including the council majority--say it would place houses on seismically unsafe land.

Yeo said she is concerned that voters might be misled by the ballot arguments against Measure B-91, particularly a statement that the measure advises the city to buy the Hellman Ranch property.

“In looking at it, I based my concern strictly on the wording of the ballot measure, which does not say” that the city should purchase the property, Yeo said.

According to the state Election Code, a judge can order that ballot arguments be amended or deleted “only upon clear and convincing proof that the material in question is false, misleading or inconsistent” with Election Code requirements.

Wilson and Hunt, who defended the arguments, said the responsibility to purchase and develop the land rests with the city because financial studies indicate that Measure B-91 options would not be profitable for developers, and the measure would suggest that the majority of the land go to public use.

“What other alternative is there?” Hunt asked.

Seal Beach resident Wendi Rothman, a supporter of Measure B-91, applauded Yeo’s action Thursday.

“We are pleased that the city clerk has taken action to not allow the residents of Seal Beach to be misled, at least on these false points, by the well-paid public relations firm that Mola Development Co. has hired,” said Rothman, a member of Seal Beach Citizens United.

Although Hunt and Wilson signed the argument, it was drafted by Eileen Padberg, a consultant for Seal Beach Citizens for Parks, Open Space and Responsible Government, a Mola-sponsored committee that gathered more than 4,000 signatures to force the election.

Padberg said she is confident the ballot arguments will stand up in court and is considering challenging ballot arguments filed by the opposition.